Pros
Working here feels like being adopted into a family. Management strives to provide a warm, supportive environment, and great care is taken to highlight individual achievements and strengths. Each individual clinic has its own personality and feels like a team, and regularly scheduled staff get to know one another well. There's a lot of socializing with colleagues outside of work hours, which reflects the good, friendly environment. Perhaps it's a personality trait common to people who work as counselors, but there seems to be a lot of talking and hugging! A high standard of etiquette and patient care is expected, and I found the training to be very thorough, with strict protocols for everything from the first visit for the new patient right through weekly appointments, discussions about medications, shots, paperwork, and final visits. We receive regular training sessions, constantly upgrading our nutritional knowledge. Management are great at responding to query emails very quickly. We have regular all-hands meetings, and staff are kept up-to-date with company matters. I find that to be very comforting. If there's a question, it's OK to ask, and it will be answered. I find management at all levels to be very approachable. The company recently went through a rapid expansion, and systems were introduced and upgraded to handle the increased numbers. These seem to be working well - e.g. systems for scheduling, time off requests, and in-staff communications. Staff are given opportunities to use their individual strengths and talents within the company - so you might find program counselors making videos about exercise, teaching patient seminars or writing blog posts. I think that we all get out of Jumpstart what we put into it. Those who are ambitious and energetic will find themselves with plenty of interesting opportunities.
Cons
With the rapid growth earlier in the year there seemed to be a new staff person every day, a new protocol, and a new system to log into and learn - along with a surge in new patients, so at times it felt challenging and stressful, but for the most part this has settled. Compensation is tricky - when you live in the Bay Area, it's never going to be enough! I feel that there are not too many staff members to spare, so if somebody gets sick it can throw the whole day off, which trickles down to extra pressure on staff and potentially disgruntled patients, who may find themselves waiting to be seen.
